Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery

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Overview

Biography

Specializing in head and neck ablative and reconstructive surgery, Dr. Mark Varvares serves as the Associate Chair of Otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School. A 1986 graduate of Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Dr. Varvares completed his residency in otolaryngology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School in 1991 prior to completing his clinical fellowship in head and neck reconstructive surgery at Mass. Eye and Ear.

Dr. Varvares first joined the full-time faculty of Mass. Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School in 1992, following two years in a community-based practice. In 2003, he accepted a Department Chairmanship at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, where he successfully established a multidisciplinary program in head and neck oncology, among his many other accomplishments. In 2015, he returned to Boston to rejoin the full-time faculty of Mass. Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School.

In his capacity as Associate Chair, Dr. Varvares oversees clinical and research program development across the Harvard Medical School affiliate programs. His clinical interests include squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, free flap reconstruction of head and neck defects, skull base surgery, surgery of the parotid, thyroid and parathyroid glands, surgery of the larynx, and cancer of the nose and paranasal sinuses. He also conducts a productive research program in head and neck oncology, studying how surgical pathology of head and neck tumors impact survival. Other research interests include a variety of topics in head and neck reconstruction, the role of oncolytic adenoviruses as a possible therapeutic modality to treat head and neck cancer, and the role of music therapy as an intervention in cancer management.